Review Detail

“The Romance Rewind” by Sarah Everett has a lot of “While You Were Sleeping” in it. When 17-year-old Zadie goes out to dinner with her boyfriend, she expects a promise for the future, in the form of a ring and the future she has been dreaming of with Jason. Instead, she finds herself single again, just before she and her now ex-boyfriend get into a car crash.

Upon waking, she discovers that Jason is in a coma, so she does what she thinks is right—she lies about what happened that night, not wanting anyone to know the shame she feels about the entire situation. When someone, namely Jason’s cousin, Marcus, finds out the truth, it seems he is trying to make her life harder, but she discovers more about Marcus than she ever thought she wanted—or needed—to know when they end up trapped in a time travel loop that keeps taking them to the past together, rediscovering past situations in her life with Jason. Coupled with this, someone else seems to know her secret, and is threatening to tell the truth about their breakup.

The story seems predictable at times, but it throws in a few twists and turns. Zadie just wants everything to be the way it was—until she realizes that the way it was may not be what is truly best for her, or what she truly wants.